HONG KONG—MSN announced a new initiative to bring its Hotmail Web-based e-mail service to mobile phones in Asia. MSN has partnered with U.S.-based Mobileway to allow mobile operators in Asia to offer Hotmail via two-way short message service beginning in mid-year.
The agreement follows successful carrier trials of the service in Chinese and English in Asia. Several European mobile operators, including TDC in Denmark and Spain’s Telefonica, offer Hotmail SMS services.
Users of the service will have the option to receive e-mail sent by SMS to their Hotmail accounts on their mobile phones. They can reply to e-mail messages on their phones directly to the sender via SMS or perform other tasks from their phones.
There are more than 110 million Hotmail users worldwide, including 15 million in Asia, according to data from Jupiter Media Metrix. Mobileway provides mobile transaction technology.
